How to Blanch Almonds

Have you ever come across a recipe that calls for blanched almonds?  Did you think to yourself what is a blanched almond or how do I blanch almonds?  You will be surprised how simple and easy it is to blanch almonds.  When a recipe calls for blanched almonds they want almonds with the skinned removed.  This is usually the case in pastries and dessert fillings. Blanching allows the true flavor of the almond to come forward in addition to helping create a smoother texture for fillings.

The process of blanching is to plunge foods in boiling water for a few seconds, usually about 30, then remove them and immediately place in cold or ice water to stop the cooking process.  Blanching sets the color of vegetables like asparagus and green beans, lets you easily peel fruits like tomatoes, and slip the skins off nuts. The food does not cook all the way through, so the food remains crisp.

Now let’s blanch some almonds, which I will be using later this week.

Depending on how many almonds you are blanching fill a small or medium saucepan approximately half full of water and bring the water to a full rolling boil.

Add raw skin-on almonds to boiling water.

Boil skin-on almonds for about 30 seconds, any longer and the almonds will cook and lose their crispness.

Strain the almonds from the boiling water and run under cold water, then spread them in a single layer on the kitchen towels. Pat dry.  The skins will look pruney.

When the almonds are warm to the touch, take a single almond between your thumb and forefinger and pinch gently to slide the skin off the nut.

Be careful to not use too much pressure or the almond will shoot out and you could lose an eye and then you’ll blame me and we can’t be friends anymore. I don’t want that to happen, so remember, use gentle pressure.

Place the skinned almonds on a separate kitchen towel, when your finished skinning all the almonds pat them dry and seal in a plastic zip-top bag.  You can freeze the almonds or refrigerate until use.

Crazy easy right!?  Now what will I use these almonds for?  Hmmmmm…….

Print Directions

How to Blanch an Almond

Depending on how many almonds you are blanching fill a small or medium saucepan approximately half full of water and bring the water to a full rolling boil.

Add raw skin-on almonds to boiling water.

Boil skin-on almonds for about 30 seconds, any longer and the almonds will cook and lose their crispness.

Strain the almonds from the boiling water and run under cold water, then spread them in a single layer on the kitchen towels. Pat dry.  The skins will look pruney.

When the almonds are warm to the touch, take a single almond between your thumb and forefinger and pinch gently to slide the skin off the nut, be careful to not use too much pressure or the almond will shoot out.

Place the skinned almonds on a separate kitchen towel, when your finished skinning all the almonds pat them dry and seal in a plastic zip-top bag.  You can freeze the almonds or refrigerate until use.

Peppercorn Top Blade Roast Stuffed w/ Chorizo

 It was appoximatly 1 am when I got this idea and thanks to the memo tool on my handy new cell phone I just rolled over and typed it out so I wouldn’t forget it.  The following day I went to the store to pick up the few things that I needed to get this together. 

After I though about it I realized that if I made it for just Hubby and I we were going to have a butt load of food leftover, which I knew would go to waste because we were leaving to FL in a few days.   Besides that fact that I am horrible at eating leftovers.   I grabbed my sweet new phone and texted my friend Amber.  I informed her that I was cooking, but I was going to have a lot of food that we couldn’t eat by ourselves.  Wondering if she could help a sister out.  At first it was a no, but then I told them what I was doing and I managed to persuade them away from doing their chores.

About 2 hours later they where in my home bearing beverage gifts and ready to consume my food. Read more

Rosted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Sauce

During the week the my computer was on the fritz I still cooked…..I mean we still had to eat, I don’t only make food to post on this site.   This was one of the dishes that I made that week.  Off the bat it just looks like spaghetti and marinara, but don’t let this picture fool you.  I remember when I made Hubby his plate he looked a little disappointed thinking that is was just plain spaghetti.

Unfortunately, I, like a doofus did not make notes when I made the sauce so I will have to give you a guesstimate.  Also I made some Italian seasoned chicken thighs that I cooked in the sauce but for the life of me I cannot remember how I prepared them.  If you look really close you can see it under all the sauce.  so we are going to just focus on the sauce for this post.

The base of the sauce is roasted red peppers, there are no tomatoes in this here sauce.  (That is my little bit of cowboy talk, I am living in Oklahoma after all) 

A few weeks back my fellow food blogger Stacey Snacks did a post on roasted red peppers.  I had some red peppers that were going to start looking a little sad in my fridge, so I decided to get my roast on.  Roasting peppers is easy and if you got a jar to store them you are good to go, not more need for wrinkly peppers in your fridge. 

Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Sauce

2 large red bell peppers, roasted
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 Tbs oregano
1/2 Tbs basil
1/2 Tbs thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbs goat cheese

Place roasted red peppers in food processor, with juices. (If you like to roast your own peppers here is a how to)

In a heavy skillet heat olive oil at a medium high heat. Saute minced garlic for about 5 minutes. Add spices into the skillet and toast for about 2 minutes.

Add red pepper puree to the skillet, cook till the sauce begins to simmer. Add goat cheese and stir until it melts evenly. Let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

Do you Know How to Peel a Plantain?

Growing up in a Puerto Rican household I became very familiar with the plantain and I LOVE THEM!  You can eat them like 20 different ways, fried, boiled, baked, covered in cheese….the possibilities really are endless. I remember when I was about 15 years old, my parents sent me ahead of them to PR,  to live with my Abuela (Grandmother). My Abuela made great use of me and had me peeling plantains, yucca and potatoes almost everyday. It wasn’t easy but I am grateful because now I can peel a plantain with my hands tied behind my back……well not really, but you know what I mean.

Do you know how to peel a plantain?  Do you know what a plantain is?  Plantains look like a big mutated banana, but unlike a banana you do not eat these raw.  Plantains do become sweeter and ripen turning the skin yellow and black.  The skin also becomes softer and thinner when ripe.  Depending on what dish you want to prepare you will need the plantain either ripe or green. 

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Spicy Tequila Shrimp

 

When I saw this recipe I just had to try it. I have never done any kind of flambé. I found it because I was looking for a recipe that used tequila, since I still had some left from my birthday celebration. (We each had a horny toad margarita, thank you Amber)I was very excited to do this dish. I gave Hubby a heads up just in case the fire brigade was in front of the house when he got home, he would know why.   This was a risky choice because I cannot find a fire extinguisher anywhere in the house. But I got some sand so I should be ok..

Well the flambé was cool, I recommend everyone tries it once, and the dish was super YUM-E! Even though it has jalapenos it isn’t very spicy, really almost not at all.  It was fun to start a fire. lol.  Hubby walked in right after I had lit it, just in time for the show.  It had a great flavor to it, I loved the lime.  I complimented the shrimp with”Green” Rice which has cilantro and lime tossed into it. It was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S !  I made it with jasmine rice which gave it a great aroma. 

I am so proud that I pulled this off with out burning down my kitchen, singeing my eyebrows or arm hair. (My fore arms are a little on the fuzzy side)  Oh and no fire brigade.

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Homemade Pasta: No Pasta Machine Required

I have been wanting to make homemade pasta FOREVER, and  I have been asking for a pasta machine probably for just as long.  So when I saw this recipe I HAD to try it out.  For my first try, and without a machine it turned out pretty good.  Although apparently I needed to roll it thinner because I ended up with some pretty fat noodles, which made an extra hearty meal.   No matter, I froze some of the dough so I will have a chance to try it again.  The sauce that I made, I borrowed from Dutch Girl Cooking, except I used a combo of Italian sausage and beef.  It turned out quite yummy so I recommend you give it a try.  Her recipe makes A LOT of sauce so I froze some of it to facilitate a quick dinner in the future.

This pasta making process is a great weekend project and as you get better at it you can be more creative with it.  I am hopping to make my own ravioli down the road, once I get comfortable with the rolling.

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